To say USC women’s golf has momentum heading into the postseason would be a major understatement. 

Entering the Big Ten Championships, which begin Friday, the Trojans are on an unfathomable run reminiscent of past USC national championship-winning teams, Head Coach Justin Silverstein said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. 

USC accomplished just about everything possible in the regular season. It has displayed consistent dominance, winning five consecutive team tournaments. It has shown no mercy while doing so, either, beating second-place teams by an average of nearly 19 shots in that span.

The Trojans have also taken home individual titles in four of the five tournaments. Notably, sophomore Jasmine Koo emerged victorious at the Chevron Silverado Showdown on April 6-8, marking her seventh career individual win, breaking a tie with now-LPGA golfer Annie Park for the most in program history. Park, one of the most accomplished golfers in Trojan history, spent three seasons with USC.

Koo becomes program’s winningest player

After tying the individual wins record by notching her sixth victory at the Thompson Invitational in Oahu, Hawai’i, on March 18, Koo didn’t take long to claim the No. 1 spot, needing just three weeks and two tournaments to grab her record seventh win. 

However, after the first round at the Silverado Showdown, it didn’t look like it would be Koo’s event. Her even-par 72, while only five back of USC senior and opening-round leader Catherine Park, left her in a tie for 14th. Two double-bogeys derailed what could have been a promising, four-birdie round. 

The front nine of the second round, which included two bogeys and no birdies, only put her in a deeper hole. But Koo rallied with a back-nine 31 to finish the round with a 3-under 69 and gave herself a puncher’s chance starting the final round in seventh place. 

And in that final round, Koo delivered an all-time performance, firing a bogey-free, 7-under 65 to leapfrog over the other contenders and outlast the field by just one stroke.  

“I was hitting a lot of fairways and greens throughout the entire week,” Koo said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “On the final day, my putting just came together … and that really just sealed the deal.”

Despite her unflappable play in the final round, Koo said she felt nervous as she monitored the leaderboard and realized what she needed to do on her closing hole to clinch the win. 

“I was fearful of making a mistake, because all I had to do was hit a bad shot or hit a bad putt [to lose],” Koo said. “I had the victory in my hands, and I was fearful that I would let it get away. … But besides that, after I made my two-footer to win, I was just relieved.”

Silverstein said he believes Koo’s championship track record is no coincidence — it’s a testament to her ability to close out tournaments. 

“Jasmine has always had a knack for winning golf tournaments. I believe winning is a skill,” Silverstein said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “When she gets in the hunt, her dopamine spikes, and she’s ready to go. She’s hunting trophies; it’s kind of what she’s done her whole life.”

Park, Shoemaker share second to power team win

While Koo took home medalist honors at 10-under 206, which led to her second Big Ten Golfer of the Week award, USC’s resounding win at the Chevron in Napa was a complete team effort. The Trojans shot 37-under 827, 22 strokes clear of second-place Eastern Michigan University and 38 better than No. 5 Oregon in third. 

USC swept the top three spots, as Park and junior Bailey Shoemaker finished right behind Koo in a tie for second at nine under. 

Park had mixed results at Silverado, going five-under on the back nine in the opening round for a 67, but struggled the next day and shot 74. She responded in the final round with a 6-under 66 that could have won her the tournament if not for Koo’s late heroics. 

Shoemaker played three consistent, impressive rounds of 69, 70 and 68 to also fall one short. Her 9-under 54-hole total tied the best tournament finish of her career.  

Sophomore Kylie Chong and freshman Sarah Hammett, the latter of whom competed as an individual, both finished in ninth place at 3-under for the tournament. 

The Trojans’ superb final round gave them a little more history: The combined team score of 20-under 268 over the final 18 holes marks the second-best round in program history. 

Silverstein said he believes USC, which now has six team titles, has a case to be among the best and most talented teams in collegiate history — rivaling groups that he himself coached as an assistant in 2013 and 2014. 

“We took a couple moments after the round and then tried to teach them a little bit about the history, remind them of what came before them, but also show some gratitude for where they are, which is walking alongside a group that did some pretty special stuff.”

Trojans prepare for Big Ten Tournament

While USC’s recent accomplishments have given the team good reason to be excited, the squad has shifted its attention to the upcoming 54-hole Big Ten Championships, Friday through Sunday, which kicks off postseason play. Silverstein said that during the playoffs, it is important to stick to the existing practice routine that has brought the Trojans success all year. 

“When things get bad, we double down. When things get good, we double down,” Silverstein said. “Keep stressing the same things, which is playing with elite discipline, putting with great speed on the greens, knowing your yardages. That seems like very basic stuff, but we think if we can be the best in each field at that, that we’re going to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Since none of the Trojans have ever played at the host venue, Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, Koo said she and her teammates are relying on game plans from the coaching staff. 

“We’ve done all of our prep work. We’ve been practicing diligently every day. … It’s really up to the coaches now to really get a good course plan for us,” Koo said. “I have complete trust in them, and I really think that their course plan is going to lead us to victory.”

The focus may be on the upcoming conference tournament, but USC has aspirations well beyond this weekend. The Trojans expect to embark on a long playoff run that takes them all the way to the NCAA Championships in late May. 

Entering the most important and pressure-packed part of the season, where national glory may await, no one is confident — and firing on all cylinders — as much as USC.